The crossover, the name of the exhibition-sale is curated by Saint Fleur and presents an exciting selection of works by 13 artists, from established names such as Robert Reed and Rashid Johnson to newcomers Milo Matthieu, Delphine Desane and Robert Peterson.
Participating artists are donating i proceeds from the sale to support the Backboard project, whose mission is dedicated to ensuring that all communities have a safe and inviting place to play basketball, by organizing one-of-a-kind, artist-led renovations to public basketball courts.
In the spirit of The Crossover's mix of basketball and art, the exhibition highlights an early lineup of five of those artists (and a "sixth man" off the bench), each exploring themes at the intersection of contemporary identity.
Delphine Desane is a painter raised in Paris by Haitian parents and promotes exuberant and expansive representations of black motherhood and femininity. Desane connects the world of art and fashion: she trained as a stylist, she decidedly oriented towards painting after becoming a mother, refining her practice during her maternity leave. Her work quickly garnered acclaim, with Desane collaborating with both Vogue Italia for the cover of its 2020 Sustainability Issue, and designer Jacquemus for the Spring/Summer 2020-21 campaign.
Mailo Matthieu takes up the psychic autonomy practiced by the Surrealists and Dadaists and investigates the relationship between the conscious and the subconscious. He paints with an open mind, making the whimsical, the unexpected and the exciting to create dialogues between the worlds of experience and introspection. Often painting several works at the same time, he projects his thought in its purest form – the unexpected – onto the canvas with very rapid intensity and joyful spontaneity. The resulting works juxtapose disparate influences to open up unexpected avenues of exploration between the felt and the unheard, the seen and the unseen, the lived and the imagined.
Marcus Brutus is a contemporary painter based in Queens, New York whose portraits of African Americans examine the contemporary struggle for civil rights. Brutus mixes contemporary imagery with ambiguous traces of the past, collapsing time and revealing the lingering trauma of history. His figures, solitary or grouped, active or passive, exude calm confidence and resolute self-confidence. Starting from this point, Brutus explores self-expression and self-representation despite social conditions.
Robert Peterson He came to painting in 2012 when he put paint on canvas for the first time professionally after receiving life changing medical news. Eight months later, he exhibited his work in New York and has since become one of the most celebrated new artists in the country, exhibiting in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Peterson paints raw, honest, and powerful portraits with the express goal of uplifting people of color.
Bahar Bambi, from Berlin, blends aspects of her Turkish and German roots to create artworks that exist across cultures, time periods and media. Bambi is best known for her large, richly decorated paintings that combine elements of traditional weaving techniques and contemporary street art. These works seem intensely polar: one end often depicts sharply delineated shapes and the strict symmetrical order of Middle Eastern textiles, while the other boasts free forms and lighthearted colors reminiscent of contemporary graffiti and street art. In the centre, the shapes break down and merge, highlighting the similarities shared by each side.
Deborah Roberts investigates otherness by breaking down established and monolithic social conceptions of beauty and belonging – cultural and psychological pop historical art – and promoting in their place new standards of beauty and self-expression. Roberts, who lives and works in Austin, Texas, uses motifs from African-American childhood to emphasize identity and its dual capacities to empower and oppress.
